HB 373: "An Act relating to marijuana and controlled substances and forfeitures related to controlled substances."
00 HOUSE BILL NO. 373 01 "An Act relating to marijuana and controlled substances and forfeitures related to 02 controlled substances." 03 BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF ALASKA: 04 * Section 1. AS 11.71.080 is amended to read: 05 Sec. 11.71.080. Aggregate weight of live marijuana plants. For purposes of 06 calculating the aggregate weight of a live marijuana plant, the aggregate weight shall 07 be 08 (1) the measured weight of the marijuana when reduced to its 09 commonly used form; or 10 (2) one-sixth the measured weight of the plant after the plant has 11 been severed from its roots if not reduced to its commonly used form. 12 * Sec. 2. AS 17.30.110 is amended by adding a new subsection to read: 13 (b) Contraband shall be seized and summarily forfeited to the state without the 14 need for further proceedings of any type under this chapter or another provision of
01 law. Contraband includes 02 (1) a schedule IA or IIA controlled substance; 03 (2) a controlled substance that has been manufactured, distributed, 04 dispensed, acquired, or possessed in violation of this chapter or AS 11.71; 05 (3) plants from which a controlled substance can be derived and that 06 have been planted or cultivated in violation of this chapter or AS 11.71 or that are 07 grown in the wild; 08 (4) a controlled substance or a plant from which a controlled substance 09 may be derived that comes into the possession of the state or a law enforcement 10 agency of the state or a municipality if the owner is unknown; 11 (5) dangerous, toxic, or hazardous raw materials or equipment used or 12 intended to be used in the manufacture of a controlled substance in violation of this 13 chapter or AS 11.71. 14 * Sec. 3. AS 17.30.112(a) is amended to read: 15 (a) Property listed in AS 17.30.110 and not summarily forfeited to the state 16 as contraband under AS 17.30.110(b) may be forfeited to the state either upon 17 conviction of the defendant of a violation of this chapter or AS 11.71, or upon 18 judgment of a court in a separate civil proceeding in rem. The court may order a 19 forfeiture in the in rem proceeding if it finds that an item specified in AS 17.30.110 20 was used during or in aid of a violation of this chapter or AS 11.71. 21 * Sec. 4. AS 17.30.114(a) is amended to read: 22 (a) Property listed in AS 17.30.110 may be seized by a peace officer upon an 23 order issued by a court having jurisdiction over the property upon a showing of 24 probable cause that the property may be forfeited under AS 17.30.110. Seizure 25 without a court order may be made if 26 (1) the seizure is incident to a valid arrest or a search under a valid 27 search warrant; 28 (2) the property subject to seizure has been the subject of an earlier 29 judgment in favor of the state in a criminal proceeding or civil proceeding in rem 30 under this chapter or AS 11.71; [OR] 31 (3) there is probable cause that the property was used, is being used, or
01 is intended for use, in violation of this chapter or AS 11.71 and the property is easily 02 movable; property seized under this paragraph may not be held for more than 48 hours 03 without a court order obtained to continue its detention; or 04 (4) the property is contraband under AS 17.30.110(b). 05 * Sec. 5. AS 17.30.114(b) is amended to read: 06 (b) Property taken or detained under (a) of this section that is summarily 07 forfeited to the state under AS 17.30.110(b) shall be held in the custody of either the 08 commissioner of public safety or a municipal law enforcement agency authorized by 09 the commissioner of public safety to retain custody of property listed in AS 17.30.110 10 subject to disposition as provided in AS 17.30.126. Property taken or detained 11 under (a) of this section that is not summarily forfeited to the state under 12 AS 17.30.110(b) shall be held in the custody of the commissioner of public safety 13 or a municipal law enforcement agency authorized by the commissioner of public 14 safety to retain custody of property, and, subject only to the orders and decrees of 15 the court having jurisdiction over any forfeiture proceedings, [. IF PROPERTY IS 16 SEIZED UNDER THIS CHAPTER,] the commissioner of public safety or an 17 authorized municipal law enforcement agency may 18 (1) place the property under seal; 19 (2) remove the property to a place designated by the court; 20 (3) take custody of the property and remove it to an appropriate 21 location for disposition in accordance with law; or 22 (4) with court approval, transfer the property to another state or federal 23 law enforcement agency for forfeiture proceedings by that agency; the court having 24 jurisdiction shall grant the approval under this paragraph if the property 25 (A) will be retained within the jurisdiction of the court by the 26 agency to which the property is being transferred; or 27 (B) is 28 (i) not needed as evidence; or 29 (ii) needed as evidence, and the property is fungible or 30 the property's evidentiary value can otherwise be preserved without 31 retaining the property within the jurisdiction of the court.
01 * Sec. 6. AS 17.30.116(a) is amended to read: 02 (a) Within 20 days after a seizure under AS 17.30.110 - 17.30.126, the 03 commissioner of public safety shall, by certified mail, notify any person known to 04 have an interest in an item with an appraised value of $500 or more, or who is 05 ascertainable from official registration numbers, licenses, or other state, federal, or 06 municipal numbers on the item, of the pending forfeiture action. Additionally, the 07 commissioner of public safety shall publish notice of forfeiture action of an item 08 valued at $500 or more in a newspaper of general circulation in the judicial district in 09 which the seizure was made, or if no newspaper is published in that judicial district, in 10 a newspaper published in the state and distributed in that judicial district. The notice 11 shall be published once each week during four consecutive calendar weeks. The 12 requirements of this subsection do not apply to contraband under AS 17.30.110(b) 13 [THE FORFEITURE OF CONTROLLED SUBSTANCES WHICH HAVE BEEN 14 MANUFACTURED, DISTRIBUTED, DISPENSED, OR POSSESSED IN 15 VIOLATION OF THIS CHAPTER OR AS 11.71, REGARDLESS OF THEIR 16 VALUE]. 17 * Sec. 7. AS 17.30.122 is amended to read: 18 Sec. 17.30.122. State disposal of forfeited property. Property forfeited 19 under AS 17.30.110 - 17.30.126 other than contraband under AS 17.30.110(b) 20 [CONTROLLED SUBSTANCES] and firearms shall be disposed of by the 21 commissioner of administration in accordance with applicable law. Firearms shall be 22 disposed of as provided in AS 18.65.340. As to property other than firearms or 23 contraband [CONTROLLED SUBSTANCES], the commissioner of administration 24 may 25 (1) destroy property harmful to the public; 26 (2) sell the property and use the proceeds for payment of all proper 27 expenses of the proceedings for forfeiture and sale, including expenses of seizure, 28 custody, and court costs; 29 (3) take custody of the property and authorize its use in the 30 enforcement of this chapter or AS 11.71, or transfer it to another agency of the state or 31 a political subdivision of the state for a use in furtherance of the administration of
01 justice; 02 (4) take custody of the property and remove it for disposition in 03 accordance with law; 04 (5) forward it to the Drug Enforcement Administration of the United 05 States Department of Justice for disposition; or 06 (6) transfer ownership of an aircraft to the Alaska Wing, Civil Air 07 Patrol. 08 * Sec. 8. AS 17.30.124 is amended by adding a new subsection to read: 09 (c) A court may not order the remittance of contraband under 10 AS 17.30.110(b). 11 * Sec. 9. AS 17.30.126 is repealed and reenacted to read: 12 Sec. 17.30.126. Disposition of contraband. The commissioner of public 13 safety or a municipal law enforcement agency authorized by the commissioner to 14 retain custody of property is responsible for the disposal of contraband under 15 AS 17.30.110(b) in accordance with procedures and requirements prescribed by the 16 commissioner. However, before contraband is destroyed, the commissioner or agency 17 shall, if evidence of the contraband is necessary for criminal or other proceedings, 18 retain a representative sample of the contraband sufficient for independent laboratory 19 or chemical analysis and photographs or other documentation of the contraband. If 20 evidence of the contraband is retained as provided in this section, the existence of the 21 entire amount of contraband is presumptively genuine or authentic under Rule 902, 22 Alaska Rules of Evidence.